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Monday, January 12, 2009

rye crackers

I came back from my run yesterday, and Meredith (my four-year-old) skipped up to me as I peeled off my cold, clammy togs. “Look Mommy! Look what I made with Daddy!” While I was gone, they had made rye crackers, cut out into all kinds of fun shapes! She handed me this cracker, and said “Do you know why I brought you the heart? It’s because I love you!”

I told her it was the BEST cracker I’ve ever eaten! (And it was. Not just because it tasted great!)

rye crackers

This recipe is really fast and easy—Dan and Meredith made them, start to finish, in about an hour! It doesn’t make that many, though—so if you want to have enough for guests, or plenty for the following day, you might want to double the recipe. They are YUMMY! Dan said the original recipe came from a package of Bob’s Red Mill rye flour.

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Mix the dry ingredients together. Add the olive oil and milk, and combine well into a ball. Place the ball between 2 sheets of wax paper or parchment. Roll out about an 1/8-inch thick between the sheets of paper. This is a little bit tricky, since the piece of parchment on the bottom side will tend to wrinkle up as you roll the top. Just keep flipping it over, and straightening out the wrinkles. It’s also challenging to know how thin you’re getting the dough, since you can’t see it very well—but it doesn’t much matter. Just do the best you can to get a fairly even layer.
3. Peel off top parchment sheet and gently lay it back in place. Flip dough over; peel off second parchment layer. This lets the dough come off the bottom sheet easily after you cut the shapes out.
4. Cut dough into desired shapes, transferring shapes carefully to baking sheets as you go. Prick each cracker a few times with a fork. Gather scraps; repeat rolling, cutting, and pricking.
5. Bake crackers for 5 to 6 minutes, then remove with spatula to wire rack; cool to room temperature.
6. Store the crackers in an airtight container with sheets of waxed paper or parchment paper between the layers.